The key to user adoption of your documented process repository in my opinion is simplicity. Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) still works like a charm. Many organization just try to mimicthe reality and that is not the purpose of a well documented business process. A model, by defnition, is a simplified version of reality and therefore does not need to have as much detail as reality. The readability (and as a result the usability) of any business process determines if the end users (or information consumers) will actually look at it once or even more often.

With "classify" I mean that all organizations have both differentiating and non-differentiating processes which they are executing. The type of organization in combination with your product / service portfolio will determine what processes are differentiating (eg potentially set you apart from the competition) or non-differentiating (you just need to make sure you do these right and as cost-effective as possible, but they do not provide any competitive edge if done right). The reason why I stress this is that the management of business processes (so the mental ownership, the management of change, the type of attention they get or should get) depends on the classification of said processes. When dealing with non-differentiating processes, one could argue that these should be relentlessly standardized, moved to shared service centers etc. For the differentiating processes, it could mean that the support organization needs to be as agile as possible to reduce the time to market in case of changes.

So, keep it simple, classify your business processes and act accordingly. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it. Reality can be more stubborn I guess.

A very good question! There indeed seems to be a delta when it comes to technical advances, tendencies and, ultimately, real-life benefits from process optimization and automation.
For the extended family of business process professionals, including of course all the other related job functions as well , the main focus for 2019, I think, should be the end to end process value chain. It has been becoming increasingly realistic to control most of the outcome altering characteristics of the even most complex business processes, leveraging enhanced integration capabilities, blockchain tracking and audits, AI/ML/BI as well as business rules as an integral part of BPM applications. Applying good design practices, process architects, analysts and managers nowadays cannot only gain quick BAM based insights but also, with growing amounts of "high quality data" and intuitive analytics, venture into the field of (process) data science and obtain viable predictions as well as fine tuning rule designs, using naive bias, tree diagram simulations and other "handy tools". Not only that but also, due to the continued improvement of globe spanning data sets containing meta and micro information, the incorporation of Big Data becomes a real prospect for everyday processes in 2019. Can we, for instance, correlate the LEI with our customer onboarding response times, during the approval steps of the process? If we indeed can, then eventually, the resource and rules provisioning of business processes could be a function that automatically adapts to such indicators.

1. Pretend they don't exist i.e. processes are not important
2. You work for your processes i.e. the end game is to have a library of improved processes - your focus is "(Business Process) Management"
3. Your processes work for you. i.e.you put your processes in-line and they help you to achieve operational efficiency and effectiveness - your focus is "Business (Process) Management"

I think maybe just understanding how process are actually working which creates the new data / information which is core to any business. Business may be surprised how much off line work is undertaken by their employees with poor connected flow of information across the end to end process which as we know is the gap which is filled by "BPM"? Mapping out step by step is both easy (readily adopting KISS principles) and rewarding by sharing such knowledge.

The real trick is then converting that knowledge into a Digital application direct from such "maps" giving both management and users confidence for a new engaged and empowered future. This environment can encourage new business models to improve productivity and the employee experience which contribute to strengthening the customer relationships.

+1 David: "Business may be surprised how much off line work is undertaken by their employees" -- and some of the off-line is the so-called "tacit" which may or may not be automatable. Insofar as some of the tacit is pattern-related (e.g. in a factory the sounds, vibrations, temperature and smells of machinery), it may be subject to absorption into AI/ML.

In medicine, no work relating to providing hands-on services to a patient gets done off- line. e.g. failing to record administration of medication implies no meds were given, but if meds were given but not recorded, then you have a double dose, possibly resulting in death in the case of some meds.

In general, no intervention should be made without consulting the Case History. This requires at least semi-real-time data recording (not notes on clipboards that get input at the end of a shift).

Pitching real-time workflow/workload management and auto-building of Case Histories is easy in healthcare.

The ability to skip, jump, re-visit steps along some 'best practice' templates is essential (the MD/Supervising Nurse has to sign off), as is the ability to insert an ad hoc step.

I have a question though. How is the above statement not a statement about what management itself is all about?How are we further ahead by making this statement, as opposed to just "in 2019, be a better manager"? (Let's focus on "management" as such - firm externals like strategy, financing and marketing excluded.)

Answer: Found in the words above "explicit" thru "process". In other words, the work of business is realized as process. That's what managers do. You can manage better by making processes the direct subject of management. You do process already, but often indirectly. If you aren't already there, you have the opportunity to win by upping your game with explicit process management.